QuoteI think TGs should be considered normal too so things like passing ENDA will happen.
As I pointed out back on page one, even if one were to concede the point of being mentally disorder, having a mental disorder is NOT a bar to marriage, or housing, or employment, or anything else
by definition.
the only time it comes into play is if the disorder makes one dangerous in some way. (actual danger, like injury or destruction of property, not just someone gets butthurt)
We don't have to be "normal" (in terms of the presence of a mental disorder or not) for ENDA to be a logical and valid law. That's not to say someone won't make an irrational argument against it on those grounds, but there will ALWAYS be irrational arguments against us.
We may be disordered, we may not - but IF we are, whether or not we are still doesn't make us second class citizens. those who suffer from depression or whatever are not second class, why would we be?
There are surely troubling aspects to being classed as "mentally disordered" - and there are troubling implications of being removed and classified as "normal" (clearly, we are NOT normal pre-transition, though I tend to agree we can become "normal" if we have the resources to fully transition)
I don't agree with the logic that we must obtain the LABEL "normal" in order to manipulate society.
(And i should pause here and say that obviously there is no real "normal" but there is such a thing as a statistical norm and deviation from that norm)
We are NOT normal, and forcing people to call us normal doesn't make it so.
In fact, I'd argue that we are a more sympathetic demographic if people understand that we are NOT normal, but are suffering from a condition not of our own making. the danger in being considered normal is being accused of making a choice to, basically, "mutilate ourselves" for no good reason (as our harshest critics suggest).
The false perception we most need to defeat is that this is a "chosen lifestyle" and we could easily choose not to transition if we wanted to. That is far more damaging, IMO, than the perception that we have a mental disorder. i would go so far as to argue that if a cisgender person concedes that we suffer from a mental disorder and STILL wants to oppress us, that the person who feels that way is unwinnable to our position - and thus of no concern in terms of altering public opinion.
Ultimately then, whether or not it is described as a mental disorder comes down to what is the most scientifically precise way to describe our abnormal condition. If that is "mental disorder" - so be it. if it is otherwise, it needs to be changed.